Tile

[Moemg]

I have the world's ugliest tile in my foyer and on my upstairs landing . I decided replacing it will be my home improvement project this year. I will have tilers come and put down the new tile but I was thinking of saving some money by removing the tile myself . Is this something a novice could do with time and a helper on week ends or have I been watching too much HGTV ?

 

[GatorBuzz]

Do you have an air compressor?

Depending on how much tile we're talking, I wouldn't think of touching it without an air compressor and air-chisel/hammer/etc. Of course, you can rent these items as well, so that is an option. But, if you have plenty of time and like to build back muscles you never knew you had, you could definitely do it by hand with basic tools. Guess it depends on how much time and patience you have. I've only removed a 6' x 4' section by hand before. It is definitely work.

 

[honobob]

Easy to do and stress relieving. Remember eye protection!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Sure, we've done tile removal and installation. Neither are difficult.
For the removal, we used a flat bladed shovel, some decent gloves, and eye protection. Ditto on the stress relief--although the best project I ever did for that involved a big sledgehammer and an old set of short concrete stairs!

You should try laying tile, it isn't hard to do in small spaces. I did all the tile work at our house, which was 2 baths, a laundry room, and a fireplace surround. Wall tile is harder, in my opinion. Very satisfying, but use knee pads or you'll wish you did!

 

[omni550]

Is this something a novice could do with time and a helper on week ends or have I been watching too much HGTV ?

Just need some muscle, eye protection and tools (mallet/ brick chisel, looks sort of like the image below.

If the old tile was set on a solid concrete base, leave that in place, as it'll be a great base for the new tile as well and will save you a lot of pounding, aggravation and waste disposal.

(On second thought, sometimes it is possible to tile right over the existing tile -- providing that the old tile is 'rock solid' ( e.g. there are no cracks/loose tiles) and that the added 'thickness/floor height' created by the new tiles won't cause any issues with the surrounding floors, doors, etc.)

 

[Nords]

I have the world's ugliest tile in my foyer and on my upstairs landing . I decided replacing it will be my home improvement project this year. I will have tilers come and put down the new tile but I was thinking of saving some money by removing the tile myself . Is this something a novice could do with time and a helper on week ends or have I been watching too much HGTV ?

HGTV tends to gloss over a few of the important details, don't they?

Removal can be done by mortals but back injury is a significant risk. So is finding out that the thinset is holding the tile tighter than you can whack with a chisel. If you already have tiles cracking and coming up then you're probably just hastening the inevitable, but if the floor is rock-solid (yet ugly) you might want to seek trained professional help.

You'll have a lot of fun with removing moldings and working around doorways. Flying chips can damage furnishings & walls as well as eyeballs. And the dust/grit will be epic.

You might also have a disposal problem. We're not supposed to put construction debris in the regular trash and you might have a big dumpster load. The tile guys will be happy to haul it-- at a price.

New tile is a great chance to decide if you want to lay it on a bias (instead of marching straight rows down the hall) and to think about mosaics or contrasting insets. If the grout is well-sealed, too, the cleaning job is a lot easier for a Scooba...

 

[W2R]

HGTV tends to gloss over a few of the important details, don't they?

They sure do. Either that, or maybe I'm a bookworm who isn't any good at home projects (true). They can make the most tedious, endless, backbreaking work look like it's a breeze. I have gotten involved in a few endless, horrible jobs due to HGTV. Never again!! (I say that every time)

So, my vote is to either learn to like the old tile, get your SO to do it for you, or pay to have the work done. Is it really that ugly?

 

[Moemg]

Thanks everybody , I think what I'll do is get a few estimates from the tile guys on removing the tile and then I'll decide if it's worth it to me . I think I could easily do the patches around my upstairs doors but the foyer is pretty big but I have lots of time to do it and yes it is really ugly . When I bought my house I got it at a real good price because the owners had the worst taste in the world .Think black room and tie dye drapes on 30' windows .

 

[mn54]

.Think black room and tie dye drapes on 30' windows .

I hear the '70's are coming back in style. Don't change a thing.

 

[Moemg]

.Think black room and tie dye drapes on 30' windows .

I hear the '70's are coming back in style. Don't change a thing.

Too late the black room is now light green and the curtains were in the garbage the day we moved in . I also had leopard flocked wall paper to scrape and ugly lineloum. No wonder the house was on the market for a long time. The thing it has going for it is space and a killer view of the bay !

 

[Ronstar]

Flying chips can damage furnishings & walls as well as eyeballs.

A guy I work with was removing his shower tile and a flying chipped tile cut through his forearm to the bone. Be careful!

 

[Caroline]

Removal can be done by mortals but back injury is a significant risk. So is finding out that the thinset is holding the tile tighter than you can whack with a chisel.

I'll second this. I removed avocado tile from my cheaply built rental house -- piece of cake. Took me 1/2 hour and a flat shovel, as explained above. I surmised that the same folks who put the tract house up in the 70s put down as small an amount of glue (or whatever) as possible to do the job.

On the OTHER hand... I helped a friend remove ceramic tile from his kitchen -- what a bear! I thought it would be as easy as my job -- NOT! From what I gather the previous owner had done the work himself and expected to stay in place until a certain warm spot froze over -- it wouldn't BUDGE.

We managed to finish the job and it looks great now. (I got lats and traps to die for out of it, plus he helped me put a roof on my house.)

I suggest a trial run in a corner to see what exactly you're dealing with.

 

[Moemg]

Besides the flat shovel did you chisel it first ? I'm going to try a small area to see what I'm dealing with ? Thanks !

 

[HFWR]

Besides the flat shovel did you chisel it first ? I'm going to try a small area to see what I'm dealing with ? Thanks !

HOME IMPROVEMENT : Tiles & Grout : Floor-Tile Removal : DIY Network

Try renting one of these:

 

[thefed]

Just get the right tools...like the thing above....it'll make all the difference. Doing it yourself also adds a level of satisfaction...in my experience anyhow.

Get a compressor and air chisel at the least...or just muscle it!

 

[Caroline]

Besides the flat shovel did you chisel it first ?

I had a pry bar standing by but didn't need it for more than a few tiles. Once I got the first couple up I was able to get the shovel under the rest of them and flip 'em up.

As they say on this board, tho' "your mileage may vary."

Best of luck to you!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Depends on what kind of tile, what its attached to, and what was used to attach it.

Some of it comes up like butter. Some of it needs heavy power tools.

It makes a hell of a mess, its heavier than crap, its easy to cut yourself or send a shard through something that isnt very shard friendly, and the pro's can do it in a few hours. You'll probably pay more to the dump for dropping it off than a tile guy will charge you to remove it.

But give it a whirl. All they can do is charge you extra. Demolition is one of my favorite parts of the job...but I have an air compressor, air hammers and chisels, and lots of large and sharp power tools.

 

[bssc]

We rented an electric chisel from the local equipment place and it took out all the chocolate colored tile in a flash, don't do it by hand.

 

[happy2bretired]

Too late the black room is now light green and the curtains were in the garbage the day we moved in . I also had leopard flocked wall paper to scrape and ugly lineloum. No wonder the house was on the market for a long time. The thing it has going for it is space and a killer view of the bay !

Sounds to me like you should have found a "Ugliest Room" contest. I think you could have easily won a complete makeover.

 

[Moemg]

Sounds to me like you should have found a "Ugliest Room" contest. I think you could have easily won a complete makeover.

You are so right ! It was the only time I've been able to look beyond ugly to the possibilities . My new Avatar is the view from my house . So that beat out any black room .

 

[Moemg]

But give it a whirl. All they can do is charge you extra. Demolition is one of my favorite parts of the job...but I have an air compressor, air hammers and chisels, and lots of large and sharp power tools.

I've always wanted to try demolition and we have an air compressor so maybe I'll give it a try . I can always call for help if I get stuck .

 

[calmloki]

You may find that the tile is stuck down to Hardibacker or cement board, particularly upstairs, where it gives a cementicious backing for the thinset. If you find that you may find it easier to separate the backer board from the subfloor than the tile from the backer. Stop by HomerDepot and see what those materials look like and then look for a trim piece that you can remove to expose an edge and see what you are dealing with (doorways, carpet junctions, top of stairs).

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Mmm, I ran into that once and it wasnt pretty. Hardiboard glued down to the subfloor with liquid nails, and I wish I knew what they used to attach the tile to the hardibacker because I was shearing chunks out of the hardi still stuck to the tile back.

Oh, and the #%#ing guy glued the trim to the wall as well and laid that over the edge of the hardi.

That all turned ugly.

 

[W2R]

Mmm, I ran into that once and it wasnt pretty. Hardiboard glued down to the subfloor with liquid nails, and I wish I knew what they used to attach the tile to the hardibacker because I was shearing chunks out of the hardi still stuck to the tile back.

Oh, and the #%#ing guy glued the trim to the wall as well and laid that over the edge of the hardi.

That all turned ugly.

I hate it when projects go bad like that. It always looks SOOO easy on HGTV.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks guys , Somehow I thought the upstairs would be easier but it's probably on backer board . The downstairs is probably on concrete . I'll play with that and see how easy it is . My SO will do a lot of the work but he's still working so I thought I'd work on it during the week . Drat ! I really want to demolish something !